Abstract
The Internet has evolved as an important source of information and children like to search for information of their interest on the Internet. This study assessed the interest and ability of 90 children aged between 4 and 10 years to use Google voice search and if it can foster informal learning. We interviewed the children to know how many times they had used Google search in the last week and what information they searched for. We then asked the children to perform textual query based Google search and Google voice search in front of us. We also checked if the children could recall the information obtained from the Internet after 10 min. We found that the children have used voice search more frequently than textual query based search in the last week and they did so to find information related to general knowledge (91%) and homework (32%). Most (80%) of the children aged 4 to 6 years were able to use voice search with the help of an adult but were unable to perform textual query based search and retain the information obtained from the search. Most (87%) of the children aged 7 to 10 years could perform both textual query based search and voice search but preferred the latter. A majority (60%) of the children aged 9 and 10 years could retain the information obtained from the Internet. We concluded that Google voice search with parental help can foster informal education of children aged 4 years and elder.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abreu, J., Beça, P., Santos, R., Cardoso, B., Fernandes, S., & Rodrigues, A. (2018). Voice interaction on TV: Analysis of natural language interaction models. In: Proceedings of the nineteenth international conference on human computer interaction (article 8).
Bellegarda, J. R. (2013). Natural language technology in mobile devices: Two grounding frameworks. In A. Neustein & J. Markowitz (Eds.), Mobile speech and advanced natural language solutions (pp. 185–196). Springer.
Bettinger, E., & Slonim, R. (2007). Patience among children. Journal of Public Economics, 91(1-2), 343–363.
Chouinard, M. M., Harris, P. L., & Maratsos, M. P. (2007). Children’s questions: A mechanism for cognitive development. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 72, 1–129.
Colliver, Y., Hatzigianni, M., & Davies, B. (2020). Why can’t I find quality apps for my child? A model to understand all stakeholders’ perspectives on quality learning through digital play. Early Child Development and Care, 190(16), 2612–2626.
Coskun-Setirek, A., & Mardikyan, S. (2017). Understanding the adoption of voice activated personal assistants. International Journal of E-Services and Mobile Applications, 9(3), 1–21.
Danovitch, J. H. (2019). Growing up with Google: How children’s understanding and use of internet-based devices relates to cognitive development. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 1(2), 81–90.
Druin, A., Foss, E., Hatley, L., Golub, E., Guha, M. L., Fails, J., & Hutchinson, H. (2009). How children search the internet with keyword interfaces. In: Proceedings of the eighth international conference on interaction design and children (pp. 89-96).
Dunn, J., Gray, C., Moffett, P., & Mitchell, D. (2018). ‘It’s more funner than doing work’: Children’s perspectives on using tablet computers in the early years of school. Early Child Development and Care, 188(6), 819–831.
Godwin-Jones, R. (2011). Mobile apps for language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 15(2), 2–11.
Gossen, T., Kotzyba, M., Stober, S., & Nürnberger, A. (2013). Voice-controlled search user interfaces for young users. In: Proceedings of the seventh annual symposium on human-computer interaction and information retrieval (pp. 2-5).
Gülay Ogelman, H., Güngör, H., Körükçü, Ö., & Erten Sarkaya, H. (2018). Examination of the relationship between technology use of 5–6 year-old children and their social skills and social status. Early Child Development and Care, 188(2), 168–182.
Hales, P. D., Anderson, M., Christianson, T., Gaspar, A., Meyer, B. J., Nelson, B., Shilvock, K., Steinmetz, M., Timmons, M., & Vande Weerd, M. (2019). Alexa?: Possibilities of voice assistant technology and artificial intelligence in the classroom. Empowering Research for Educators, 3(1), article 4.
Jochmann-Mannak, H., Huibers, T., Lentz, L., & Sanders, T. (2010). Children searching information on the internet: Performance on children’s interfaces compared to Google. In: Proceedings of the ACM SIGIR workshop on accessible search systems (pp. 27-35).
Kabali, H. K., Irigoyen, M. M., Nunez-Davis, R., Budacki, J. G., Mohanty, S. H., Leister, K. P., & Bonner, R. L. (2015). Exposure and use of mobile media devices by young children. Pediatrics, 136(6), 1044–1050.
Katerini, T. (2018). The Effectiveness of Google Voice Search for Teachin Pronunciation at the First Grade of SMK Adi Sumarmo Colomadu in Academic Year of 2017/2018. Doctoral dissertation. Surakarta, Indonesia: The State Islamic Institute of Surakarta.
Kotzyba, M., Siegert, I., Gossen, T., Wendemuth, A., & Nürnberger, A. (2015). Exploratory voice-controlled search for young users: Challenges & potential benefits. Kognitive Systeme, 3, 25–27.
Kutscher, M. L. (2016). Digital kids: How to balance screen time, and why it matters. Jessica Kingsley.
Lovato, S., & Piper, A. M. (2015). “Siri, is this you?” understanding young children’s interactions with voice input systems. In: Proceedings of the fourteenth international conference on interaction design and children (pp. 335-338).
Lovato, S. B., & Piper, A. M. (2019). Young children and voice search: What we know from human-computer interaction research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, article 8.
Mills, C. M., Legare, C. H., Bills, M., & Mejias, C. (2010). Preschoolers use questions as a tool to acquire knowledge from different sources. Journal of Cognition and Development, 11(4), 533–560.
Palnitkar, R. (2017). Experiences and affordances of voice interaction on children. Masters dissertation. Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.
Piaget, J., & Cook, M. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. International Universities Press.
Schalkwyk, J., Beeferman, D., Beaufays, F., Byrne, B., Chelba, C., Cohen, M., Kamvar, M., & Strope, B. (2010). “Your word is my command”: Google search by voice: A case study. In A. Neustein (Ed.), Advances in Speech Recognition (pp. 61–90). Springer.
Yadav, S., & Chakraborty, P. (2017). Children aged two to four are able to scribble and draw using a smartphone app. Acta Paediatrica, 106(6), 991–994.
Yadav, S., & Chakraborty, P. (2018). Using smartphones with suitable apps can be safe and even useful if they are not misused or overused. Acta Paediatrica, 107(3), 384–387.
Yadav, S., & Chakraborty, P. (2021). Child-smartphone interaction: Relevance and positive and negative implications. Universal Access in the Information Society, in press.
Yuan, Y., Thompson, S., Watson, K., Chase, A., Senthilkumar, A., Brush, A. B., & Yarosh, S. (2019). Speech interface reformulations and voice assistant personification preferences of children and parents. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction, 21, 77–88.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yadav, S., Chakraborty, P. Using Google voice search to support informal learning in four to ten year old children. Educ Inf Technol 27, 4347–4363 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10789-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10789-5